The weather in Edinburgh has been absolutely glorious over the past couple of days, so I decided to take a walk down to The Royal Botanic Gardens. There were lots of signs of Spring including a wonderful display of crocuses in Harrison Park.

Just as you are approaching Stockbridge along the Walkway, you might be surprised by a classical Roman Temple on the banks of the Water of Leith. This is St Bernard’s Well. For decades wealthy holiday makers would visit Edinburgh to drink the well's waters. Various claims were made about its medicinal properties - a cure for arthritis, back ache, and even total blindness. At the centre of an open pillared dome stands a marble statue of Hygieia, Goddess of Health.

The Walkway continues through Stockbridge and then, just before The Colony Housing I left the Walkway for Arboretum Road and the gardens.

The Edinburgh Botanic Gardens were founded in 1670 at St Anne’s Yard near Holyrood, to grow medicinal plants. The current site was developed in the early 1820s.